Chains of Fate
by Avenger3986
Summary: A story long ago lost to the ages is gifted to a son of a performing family in the town of Las Pegasus. Seeking answers to the questions it brings up of the world around him he asks questions that many would have preferred to rest undisturbed. In such a city as this, such actions do not go unnoticed. This is a journey that once began, there's no turning back.
1. First Writings

AN: Hey guys its me again Ultor here. My friend and I made a story on fimfiction and I felt like posting it here so enjoy it. :D

The First Writings

I write for many reasons; to preserve my past for future generations, to protect my thoughts for later remembrance, and to make sure that which is right, is never forgotten. But I get ahead of myself in my writings it would seem. Allow me to introduce myself to you, I am a performing Pegasus named Chance the Cheat. I know what you're already thinking with a last name like that, but no, it is not a title that I earned for being a con-pony. Cheat is a family name from my father's side, the great Cheats have quite the history, I've even found a few references to them in magic history books. My father tells me that there was more that even dated back to the time before the great harmony, but it's very hard to get a hold on books that tell of those times. I question it at times, but only in the silence of my home, it's a strange city I dwell in. You see, I was born and raised in Las Pegasus, the city of performance, of lights, and of chance. A city that was perfect for me, a city where it all started.

Some information on this city: it is divided by physical lines and lines that the people draw themselves, and rightfully so. The city is divided into four main parts; the section of the Diamonds, the section of the Hearts (Also known as the Bleeding Hearts) the section of the Clubs, and the section of the Spades. As you can see, they are all based off of the suits of the traditional playing cards, as gambling and playing is part of the life-blood and appeal of this city. The Diamonds own and run most of the major shops, be it gift shops, jewelry stores, or small businesses. The Hearts are mostly the medical ponies and emergency workers, be that a firefighter or a rescue worker. The Clubs (as their name may imply) run the clubs of the city, the dance clubs, party houses, and almost anything to do with a good time. All of these groups control a bit of a large area of buildings and business close to the middle point of the city, anything you might ever want and everything you don't can be found there. That area even houses some of the largest names in performance and gambling around.

Yes, I am very aware that I have skipped the group of the Spades, but this is for a very good reason. Nobody is quite sure what they are, not even I am quite sure even now as I write this. The opinions of them vary greatly, but here is what most of them may think. Some believe them to be a syndicate of large names that may hunt those who hinder their plans, to be buried in the end by the spade. Some believe them to be underground police and investigative ponies, taking cases that light will never be shed on, digging up the dirt the city could not bare to see with their namesake. Others think that they're the founders of the great city, hiding in the shadows and observing their success in silence for reasons unknown, maybe they're hunted or hated, nobody knows for sure. Mystery surrounds them, an enticing veil of shadows, mystery, doubt and illusion. A veil that one should not attempt to pierce lightly, nor with a rusty blade.

Now that I've told you most of the working of the city, let's move onto where my humble cog fits into this machine. I am, much like my father, a born and bred performer of the stage and streets. But unlike my dear father, I prefer the streets for many reasons. I enjoy seeing the pony's faces light up face to face, the thrill of fooling them with a trick of mine, but I enjoy it even more so because of another difference between my father and I, magic. You see, my father is a Unicorn, and my mother a Pegasus, a bit of the reason why they named me Chance. They figured that due to their lines and family past, that it was a fifty-fifty chance that I might take onto either of their lines. My mother's line was mostly Pegasi, and my father's mostly Unicorns. They had little to no Earth-pony blood in them, so that was out of the question. And for reasons that need not be said, I would surely not be an Alicorn.

Speculation surrounds what makes an Alicorn, or at least for me it does, I tend to question what others may not, I suppose that's the nature of a magician. I wonder what might make them, could it be royal blood? Who sired the two sisters of Dawn and Dusk(Celestia and Luna)? What are Prince Blueblood's ties to the royal family, how was he admitted into it? Was it birth or marriage or an agreement of some kind? One could go further into questioning where in the world Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or Cadance came from, we know that she was around for some time and didn't simply 'evolve' into an Alicorn. She was a foal-sitter for the legendary mare of Twilight too. And we have two, now three Princess's and a prince, or well two I guess with the royal wedding. Would there not be contesting for the throne? Or for who bears the title? None that is visible, they all seem to share the title and perhaps the responsibilities as well. Is there a King and Queen behind all of this, where they mentioned in the time before the great harmony? Nobody is sure, but perhaps... perhaps it is better that way.

Back to my family however, more specifically my mother and father. My mother met my father as an assistant for one of his grand shows of magic, she was greater in her assistance than he could have ever imagined and they eventually after a few more shows decided to couple up. They were stunning in their performances, my father performs in many ways, practicing magic never before seen, stunning visuals of making pure light constructs move and tell a grand story, and many more. He was great in his magical ability and his talent to push the boundaries of what we thought was possible for Unicorn magic in general. He and I even craft little pet theories of ours, some joking and some serious, one serious one being the birth patterns of ponies. In general, nobody is quite sure what may dictate your birth race, the cake family had a Pegasus and a Unicorn due to their ancestry. We theory that every pony has magic deep within them, we have cutie marks that show our special talent when we discover it for ourselves, and that could hardly be chalked up to genetics. That is, unless you were to argue that magic is part of our genes, in which case you would be kind of right, within our theory anyways.

We have no way, and by we I mean my family, of testing these out and we're sure others may have thought of this before. Our theory mainly consists of the thought that we all have magic deep within ourselves at all times, and perhaps an excess of this magic or simply family potential, that births a Unicorn. They can harness this primal power deep within themselves and manifest it through techniques and inborn knowledge. But now what can we all do with what may be inside of us? We can perhaps pass it on, and it contributes to our cutie mark, but can we manifest it? This is where the theory breaks off with him, but where mine continues in slight secret. Perhaps through certain means, we can make use of this magic within us. My only concern is if unlike Unicorns, our force may run out, or if Unicorns simply have the innate ability to tap into the primal force of magic around us, and not within us. It's a mystery, perhaps one to never be solved. But, I didn't start my writings to share theory, or not entirely anyways. I did it to make sure the truth would always be known.

Allow me to elaborate, my family, more specifically my mother, carries a legend upon its shoulders. This is the legend of a third sister of the royal family, making Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the fourth sister to come into the family. The legend of the princess of fate, I like to call her 'Lady Luck' in honor of my performing history. She was the princess of the intangible, the forces of chance and the chains of fate that bind us all together. For reasons rather unknown, she was set apart from her sisters of Dawn and Dusk and never spent quite some time with them from what is written. We all know the great tale of the kingdoms past, of the banishment of Luna for one thousand years. This action could indeed be seen as usurping to some, but to our dear lady, it was an act of betrayal, and she feared that she might be next on the list. She distrusted her sister of Dawn and was terribly sad for her sister of Dusk, but after much sadness she began to see reason. Dawn did what she had to do, but Luna simply wanted more attention, more respect and to be understood. This was a harsh reaction to a simple cry for attention in her eyes. She did not know how long the banishment would last, and feared that with family's bond with the elements of harmony being broken, that she might never come back.

The thought of the cold and desolate moon being her sister's home forever, made her terrified for her. Nopony deserved that fate for wanting to be loved, to be known, acknowledged or appreciated. She used her mastery over the chains that bind us all, and arranged an amazingly elaborate scheme to change the course of the very stars in the heavens above, to aide in her sister's escape. She knew that with her combination of the position of the stars and the powers of them both combined, they could break her imprisonment. What she did not know however, was how long until her plans would come to fruition. Now, one could argue that she was in a domain not of her own, powers at play that she could not aptly challenge. One could also argue that there could be a force/ Alicorn that may govern each element ephemeral or not. We have one of night, day, and now love, it wouldn't be too long of a shot to say there were many more. However, I have no way of knowing this for any amount of sureness so I'll go on with what I do know.

When the day finally came that her final stitch in her intricate web had been sown, she sat back and watched it all unfold with time. She watched, from where none are sure, as the final moments occurred, ready to see their family come together once more, to meet up with the sisters who must have forgotten her after all this time. As we all know today, the return of Luna never truly came, instead there was a beast by the name of Nightmare Moon to plunge the world into eternal darkness once more. Our dear lady surely knew that things would not be smooth sailing, oh yes, her sister would be mad, but she would be there to resolve these problems, as a family once more. But no, the night had changed her dear sister, it had taken control of her. She was no longer the sister she had known, and she was the one to release this... this horror unto the world.

As we all are very well aware, Nightmare Moon was taken down by the new bearers of the Elements, led by the Mare of Twilight, the apprentice of Dawn. And so with that, it was that Mare of Twilight that connected Dawn and Dusk once more. This was big news indeed, the elements connected once more, and the return of a royal family member. This news did indeed reach our dear Lady Luck. And joy filled her heart, but still a grim sorrow and shame overtook her. Yes, the problem that she brought upon the world had been remedied, but she was still the one to have caused it in the first place, and not be accident at all. Yes, she had no knowledge that this would happen, but ignorance is a poor excuse for nearly dooming the world to an eternal night. Her sister was forgiven, but she would not be so lucky. If her sister had not truly forgotten her as she had thought, what if she knew that she was indeed the one to release her? What if her ignorance to her actions was a sign of forgiveness, of understanding? What if she was already readying her punishment for when she confessed? Her sister suffered banishment for an outburst, what would she suffer for her transgressions?

As the tale goes, she thought it better in her fear and panic to stay hidden, to suffer a self-banishment from the royal family and all that she knew and loved. One day, she might come back and confess, ready to accept her fate, but as we all know, she has yet to do anything of the sort. She stays in hiding to this day, but where exactly she hides, nobody knows in the slightest. Even I still have few ideas to where she may be, it would be foolish to hide in Canterlot or many major cities close to her home. Surely almost anywhere and Alicorn would be noticed and make large news everywhere, "a fourth sister found" would be everywhere within the hour, to Celestia within the minute.

There is another part of the story that is rather physical, one that I have the honor to hold daily. There is a necklace that is passed down from generation to generation in my mothers side, and she passed it down to me. Ever since I was young I was enthralled with the story, believing it to be truer than water being wet so to say. My other siblings paid little heed to it as much as I, my little sister Roulette did care for it and believed in it, but my elder brother Blackjack did not, or simply didn't show any visible care for it. I suppose I forgot to mention them in the beginning, so I suppose now is as good as time as any to mention them with justice. My little sister is a Pegasus like me, named Roulette and she learned under my mother in the art of performance. My elder brother Blackjack is a Unicorn who learns under my father in the art of magic and some performance as well, but mostly magic it seems. I however, learn from both of them where I can, never quite perfectly fitting into their niches.

The necklace was given to me for never really having one of them to learn everything from and my pure dedication to this legend. The necklace is said to be a single crystalline tear of the Lady herself, it's wiring strands of her chain-like hair, and the chain that holds it all to be woven from her hair and the chains she weaves as well. Now I understand that only so much of this could be true when viewed by someone and that so much of it could be lies or distorted truths. But I choose to believe in it more than anything around me, and I hope to prove it the truth. The necklace doesn't seem to be incredibly magical (though I have no way of measuring it either way for certain) but it does have two odd characteristics, that being that it is seemingly always warmer than my wings, neck, or hooves. The other characteristic being that when shined directly with light, it spews a brilliant array of spectra, many more shades that the color of the tear, that being a deep blue. But the spectra could be just due to it's odd shape and crystalline nature or something of the like, I'm no expert in gems or crystals to say the very least.

My father's family had a tradition of their own, that being to teach the sons their trade of illusions and such. Blackjack has been learning rather well, I help him practice here and there and he aids me in a favor or two. My sister has been learning quite nicely as well, while they both practice on mother or father, I take to the streets to gauge the reactions. I enjoy working up close with the people, earning my money by the honest ways of chance and my trade, it keeps me calm. Sometimes I think that I question things too much, that some things are truly left unquestioned and unanswered. The pressure of this city and my work on the Lady is enough to sometimes drive a pony to madness. It drove me to seclusion in that town at one point, holed up in my study room with books scattered about, notes torn from books. Performing and my walks to my usual coffee shop usually calmed me back then, they were my only saving grace in those times. I suppose I've talked enough about these things. It's time to move on to more seemingly more recent events. Time goes by in a blur since it all began that fateful day.


	2. Shadows of the City of Lights

Shadows of The City of Lights

I had holed myself up in my study for one too many days that night, getting little rest and little food. I was high-strung that night, anxious and paranoid as I delved further into my thoughts, thinking I was constantly being watched with each turning of a page. Sense eventually found me and with the sun setting, I decided to get something to eat and drink from my favorite shop not too many blocks down. I put on my street clothes, that being a warm collared coat and a gifted hat, and went outside in the chilly evening air. It was fall at this time, going towards the holiday of Nightmare Night (which should go far smoother than last years for dear Ponyville) though it was still a fine ways away. I decided to walk to the shop today, even outside of my study I was becoming lost in thought and I wouldn't want to cause a scene or fly into someone. I also wanted to stay with the nighttime crowd to avoid many watching eyes that I believed to be upon me that night. The things that I found, the questions I was asking and the items I was pursuing were sure to have grabbed someones attention at one point or another. I tried to shy these thoughts away as I neared the shop, its lights on and a few patrons scattered about the insides of it.

As I entered the shop, I was promptly greeted by a good friend of mine, one of the workers and owners of the fine shop whom went by the name of Berry Blend, or Berry for short. She was a pleasant mare, definitely not born in a city like this, she was born from an area far south of here, and her accent showed this clearly. She smiled as I came in that night and I tipped my hat to her as I asked for the usual thing that I got when I came by. I took a booth near the side of the shop like I do most nights, in the day time I usually took a seat up by the front and had some conversation with the workers. Berry could always tell if something was wrong with me, she said that she knew my most of my family and me since I came to be. She always cared about how we were all doing, had talks with my mother and father and was a close part of our family all in all. We even took to calling her Aunty Berry at one point as kids, we still do today.

She came back with the food and drink and since things were a bit slow this evening, decided to catch up with me. She asked the usual questions of how the family was doing, how my studies have been going and how my parents have been. Things were overall well last I checked, things being business as usual for my mother and father and my siblings learning quicker than ever. Things were also rather well for Berry as well, besides having to break up a hassle or two and somepony with a running tab, things were doing quite well for her and her shop. During all of this conversation and looking back on the events of that day, I failed to notice a dark pony all in black come in through the door. He ordered a simple brew and took a booth not to far from Berry and I, and just sat there reading some papers. I of course thought nothing of it at the time, but I could feel a cold and watchful gaze upon the back of my neck. Things eventually got to me as I remembered a pony like him somewhat trailing me, I tried to hide my nervousness but Berry picked up on it.

She asked what was eating at me and I tried to lie to her as best as I could "I guess this lack of sleep is just getting to me Berry. Too much work, not enough hours in the day, you know?" She nodded and smiled "I know all to much about that deary. And that's _Aunty_ Berry to you Chancy." I laughed and calmed considerably at her use of an old nickname she gave me when I was very young "Alright Aunty Berry, I gotta head off. It was wonderful talking with you. You take it easy alright?" She continued her honey sweet smile and told me as I went off to get plenty of rest and take things easy myself. Things would hardly be easy from then on out for me, and I would receive little rest from then on out.

As I left the coffee shop that fateful night I decided to take a more unconventional route to my home. Through random walks and strolls through town I've mapped out certain areas of interest and quick paths home and to my favorite shops. I would have to use one tonight for fear of pursuit. From a quick glance behind me on my way out of the shop I had noticed the stallion all in black wrapping things up, heading out not too soon after me. More glances as I walked towards the beginning of the route and I observed him always in my sight, just within view. He was tailing me. I would need to take a more complicated route to throw him off. I dodged between a building and began my string of routes. I didn't fly at first to make sure that he was following, I could hear his quick footsteps in the distance. _Unicorn or Earthpony then_ I thought to myself, _best to throw him off with some quick, low flying_.

I went into a sprint and kicked myself up off the ground and sped forward faster than I've ever flew before, making quick low turns and knocking over a few trash cans in my haste. I wouldn't fly high above the buildings for reason of him knowing exactly where I am and possibly calling more ponies to aid him. Adrenaline surging through my veins I continued to go forward with reckless speed and panic, flying for my life. I could hear him not far behind me, "_Just how fast is this pony?!_" I thought to myself. I maintained speed and made many sharp turns, left, right, right, left, left, straight, right, left, and so on. I slowed down upon noticing the lack of steps behind me, and only hearing the sound of the wind around me and my wings. By this point my hat was long behind me, my purple mane flowing through the wind and my glasses wet from the moisture in the air. It was starting to rain, and by the sounds of it, it was going to be a storm. Thunder rolled in the distance and flashes of light lit up the night sky further away.

I stopped to catch my breath in large pants, the lack of rest and only one meal today was not enough to on that fast for long for me. I walked quickly back on route with still not a sound behind me I began to calm. It began to rain very quickly, cool droplets plastering my long hair to the back of my neck and over my glasses. I brushed the hair aside and behind my ears, and walked onwards. Sounds of thunder and lightning neared the city and seemed to close in around me. I began to wonder if I had lost my hunter, if he had given up or simply wanted to see me run in fear, like a mouse in a maze laid out before him. I slowed to a walk to maintain my energy, keeping my eyes always on the shadows around me, lit up only by the strikes of light in the sky. I took one of my final turns in my large string of paths and was met with a wall of a tall building. A wave of confusion hit me all at once, _this couldn't be I followed my route exactly didn't I?_. A wall of thoughts and panic assailed me all at once, suffice to say, I had made a wrong turn or two. A terrible mistake, one that would surely cost me my life.

While trying to wonder where I had gone wrong in my paths, I made a fatal mistake. I let my guard down. There was surely some noise to be made with his entry behind me as I stared like a fool at the wall in front of me, but I only heard the clapping of his hooves when it was too late. I turned around to face this sight, it was the very same stallion from the shop, I had trapped myself, and he has sprung in for the reward. The cat at the end of the maze. I flapped my wings out and readied to fly above him but he cut me off with a harsh voice, "I really wouldn't do that if I was you buddy. I really wouldn't." I stopped cold, frozen with fear. The voice certainly didn't sound familiar, but it held no good intentions. In my panic in fear, I tried to reason with him, telling him that he could have my money. I certainly couldn't identify him and told him he could have just about anything that he wanted enough to have chased me thus far.

This only seemed to humor him instead of interest him. He said that if he wanted something from me, he would have taken it already, and that it wouldn't matter if I could identify him or not. I'd be dead soon anyways. He tipped his hat to me in mock curtsey and revealed a horn, he was a Unicorn. He must have used magic or know-how to catch up to me. Two more ponies stepped out from behind him, both Earthponies from the look of things. He had brought friends, and even more to come. The icy rain was coming down fiercely now and the strikes of lightning and roar of thunder becoming ever more frequent. It was a fairly wide space between the three buildings, you could likely fit quite a large cart in between them, and a few of them at that. I readied to dive in at them to defend myself, extending my wings and getting low to the ground for a jump , when suddenly more arrived. He brought three flyers along with him, that must have been how he could predict my movements. At this point I was very glad that I still kept low in my flying, but dreading the fight to come. One Unicorn, three Pegasi, two Earthponies, one me.

Heavily outnumbered and with the fight surely starting on the Unicorns command, he decided to gloat. He said things like how it was such a shame that I got in their way, that I had potential and that I was now but a bug to be crushed beneath him. He laughed and in the background thunder struck, the two Earthponies were the first to jump, they charged at him and dove in. I ducked beneath one and gave a solid kick to the ribs to the other while they were in mid-air, launching them against the far wall with a thud. I turned around to face the other and brought my wings in front of me to block just in time to stop a vicious headbutt. I ignored the pain in my wings and spread out my wings quickly and ducked my head beneath their chin and using a boost from my wings I launched them against the near wall. They landed with a thud and I presumed them unconscious for the moment, or at least injured and out of the fight. Two down, four more to go.

The ponies I suppose noticed that I could somewhat hold my own against a few of them, and they decided to go all out upon me. The Unicorn fired magic and launched objects in my direction, preferring to keep his distance from me. The three in the air dove down on my, ready to launch me or crush me beneath them. Either I had the greatest luck in the world, or something or someone helped me right then and there. A single bolt of arching lightning struck a that very moment, and struck one of the flying ponies right between the wings, the bolt arched over to the one on it's right and then slightly to the one on their right. The one that got hit the worst hit the ground with a thud and skidded a little, likely to be dead or near enough to it. The other two broke off mid dive and hit the wall and ground, both struggling to get up but obviously alive enough. It was just me and him. Things were more or less even.

The man looked in awe at those fallen around him, and howled with rage. He fired a massive bolt of magic at me as I charged towards him and it blasted me all the way back to the far wall. I bounced away from the impact, folding my wings behind me so that my spine might not be shattered but sacrificing flight. I hit the ground with a dull thud, landing on my now broken wings, I struggled against the white hot agony to lift myself off the ground. The man hurled all manner of things at me, trash cans, metal lids and even a knife that stuck into my side to the hilt. I had flipped myself over right when he had thrown these things at me and weakly avoided all but the knife and lid that left a gash in my side from a glancing blow. I was standing after he ran out of things to throw. I was bleeding and battered, but I was standing. And I was alive. There was quite the distance between us now, but he walked forward menacingly. In a last ditch effort to survive, I walked as fast as I could and tore the knife from my side, and threw it at his eye.

I hit my mark, but not with enough force and accuracy, it stuck into his left eye but did not kill him. I'm slightly glad of this, but only so much. I'm not a killer, but he likely doesn't deserve to live either. The pony was obviously in pain and shock at the loss of his eye and my brash action. He however, did not remove the blade. In his rage and agony, he fired another shock of magic at me, but this one did not blast me back. I doubt he would have the concentration for such a thing with an injury like that. No, the blast hit me, hard. It felt as if somepony bucked me in the head. Needless to say, I was reeling from that, and I feel to the ground in disorientation. He walked forward to finish the job hands on, and this is where he made a mistake it would seem. You see, I didn't die that fateful night, no. My story would stop there and never be continued, and it is much continued even today. I'm sure that he was spouting something and maybe brandishing something, but I can't say for sure. My glasses were shattered and far away from me in the fight.

He walked towards me, and in my final moments of consciousness and blurred vision, a flash of light danced across the sky. From this light, I saw a figure of pure shadow on the side of the wall. I imagine they were grinning. They jumped out of the shadows and pounced on the Unicorn, stomping on him and kicking him against the wall. Just as quickly as he came, he seemingly melted into the shadows. This process repeated up until I was at the edge of my line it seemed, blood being washed away by rain and hearing and vision distorted. The final thing I saw was the shadow figure lording over the Unicorn on the ground, basking in his victory after his toying with him. The final thing I heard was a slight wheezing voice say "So, what is it you plan to do with me?" quite weakly. I never did find out what became of the coffee Unicorn. I never asked. I never cared. I was alive, and I had someone to thank when I came to. And as it seems, someone to help. But for now only a cold blanket of darkness to hold me as I fell into unconsciousness. A rest well deserved.


End file.
